Read Time: 3 mins

Most people can not clearly articulate what they want to do with their life.

Many are still living out the dream of a parent or have made significant life decisions based on the choices presented to them.

It's critical to figure this out if you want to make progress toward your goal. Without direction, you're on a journey someone else laid out for you.

How about we keep it real, though? Life is busy with distractions that make it challenging to follow a plan to define this life you dream of. Without a plan or a guide to help you get there, it's literally more straightforward to keep on doing what you do.

I can relate because I was on this same treadmill, until a friend helped me reflect on my experiences.

Defining your purpose starts with committing to the journey.

There are a few big milestones to getting this done that we'll review:

• Reflecting on your experiences
• Providing honest answers to who you are
• Writing out your Mission, Vision, & Values (as they are today)

Get out of your own way.

Drop the ego.

( ​how to drop your ego, Fani Stipkovic​ )

It's okay to not have this figured out.

It's also okay to take the next meaningful step to defining your path.

Ready to build a roadmap for your life?

Let’s get into how, step-by-step:

Step 01: Reflect on your experiences

You have already been on a journey in life. The key to charting a more definite path forward lies in understanding how you feel and what you've learned about your past.

Think back on a few experiences that you can reflect on, rate and write a few key lessons learned that were defining for you.

Here are a few of my own experiences:

1. Discovering a love for creativity through art
2. Taking several personality tests (Myers-Briggs, Hermann Brain, DISC)
3. Death of my paternal father and grandfather
4. Traveling to Seoul

This is critically important to take time to document the experiences you had in the past. You're still living life so you can plan more experiences in the future as well that will lead to more reflection.

You must, though, take the time to capture the learning and document it.

Step 02: Provide honest answers to who you are

The last step isn't really a step. It's a journey that doesn't stop. As you move to this next phase, you can go wrong here if you are not prepared.

Can you be honest with yourself?

You may struggle to answer who you are here. This could mean you need more life experiences. They will help you build a sense of self.

With that in mind, here are the questions for you to reflect on:

1. What activities, topics, or subjects genuinely excite and engage you?
2. What principles, morals, or beliefs are most important to you?
3. How have your past experiences influenced your thoughts, feelings, and perspectives?
4. Are the people you spend the most time with rising and reaching for similar goals?
5. What injustices really get under your skin that you would like to change?
6. What are you naturally good at or would like to develop an expertise in?
7. What feedback have you gotten from a trusted community on your key questions?

These are not an exhaustive list of questions. They do, though, represent a group of questions that I had to wrestle with. They helped me define purpose and have proven helpful when I work with others to do the same.

Step 03: Write out your Mission, Vision, & Values

You are ready to start making defining statements. You have clarity in your experiences and can answer questions about yourself. Well done.

It's time to think and write.

The Mission Statement is the "Why". All the experiences and answers should lead to your why.

The Vision Statement share the "How". By what method, process or ways will you walk into your mission. How you get there is just as important as to why you're going.

Values are the guardrails. They are non-negotiable and help to center you when decisions are tough. They can justify your actions. They represent traits that make you who you are.

Each step in this process should be taken from a point-in-time perspective. If you write your Mission, Vision, and Values today but decide to change it for tomorrow no worries -- you are the captain of your life.

The idea here is to define it as you stand at this moment, with all that you know and have available to you.

Pro Tip: Don't do this activity alone. Share with a friend or significant other, or take on a guide to help you.

Your Homework: Grab your journal, smartphone, or notebook to start reflecting on an experience that was meaningful in your life.

TL;DR:

• Reflect on past experiences and make plans for new ones
• Be honest with answers to key questions about you
• Write out your Mission, Vision, and Values

I've created a free guide that will help you take this journey together with a small group community. 10-20 people.

Click Here to Contact me at if you are interested in joining the group. It's free.

See you next Saturday.

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